Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been discharged from New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday holding tightly to the hand of her smiling daughter Chelsea and flanked by her beaming husband Bill, three days after she was admitted for a blood clot in her head.

Wearing dark sunglasses and a warm coat to brave the New York winter chill, she walked down the steps of the hospital into a waiting van - creating a media frenzy since the 65-year-old has not been seen publicly since December 7.

Secretary Clinton has been hospitalized since Sunday when her doctors discovered a blood clot in her head, in a vein behind her right ear that helps carry blood away from the brain. She is being treated with blood thinners to help dissolve the clot and doctors say she will make a full recovery.

All smiles: Bill and Chelsea Clinton both grin as they escort Hillary, 65, from the hospital, wearing dark sunglasses and a warm coat to brave the New York winter chill

Family: Hillary Clinton holds her daughter's hand as she emerges from the hospital on Wednesday after three days

On the mend: Hillary Clinton (left) leaves New York Presbyterian Hospital with husband, Bill (top right), and daughter, Chelsea (center) in New York. Her doctors expect she will make a full recovery

Support: Holding tightly to her daughter's hand, the secretary of state exited the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. Her spokesman confirmed she was discharged this evening

There was initially confusion when Clinton first appeared on Wednesday afternoon because it was unclear whether she was being discharged from the hospital or if she had only been transported to a nearby medical facility for tests.

Surrounded by her upbeat family, a team of security guardsand one doctor, she exited the hospital and was driven across the street to another facility but then returned to the hospital about a half hour later.

But by early evening, her spokesman confirmed that she had indeed been released from the hospital on West 168th Street in Manhattan.

'Secretary Clinton was discharged from the hospital this evening. Her medical team advised her that she is making good progress on all fronts, and they are confident she will make a full recovery,' Secretary Clinton's spokesman Philippe Reines said in a statement.

Finally leaving: Hillary Clinton was alone in the car with her security team when she finally left New York-Presbyterian Hospital after being formally discharged on Wednesday

Rest: The Secretary of State is expected to make a full recovery and will rest at home while doing so

'She's eager to get back to the office, and we will keep you updated on her schedule as it becomes clearer in the coming days.

'Both she and her family would like to express their appreciation for the excellent care she received from the doctors, nurses and staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center.'

Her daughter Chelsea Clinton confirmed that the Secretary is heading home, presumably to recover in the family's house in the upscale New York suburb of Chappaqua. The Clintons bought the home, located only a 40-minute drive outside of Manhattan, in 1999 and have used it as their primary residence for much of the last decade.

Recovering: Hillary Clinton was driven to a medical facility across the street from the hospital on Wednesday for tests and then officially dischargec

Back to work: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton grins widely as she is driven away from New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She is already actively engaging with her staff, a spokesperson said

She was admitted to the hospital on Sunday after an MRI revealed the clot. According to BuzzFeed, a hospital source has revealed that she received treatment in a VIP wing on the hospital's ninth floor.

A State Department spokesman said earlier on Wednesday that Clinton was getting back to work on paperwork and was engaging with her staff in Washington, who have been charged with handling U.S. foreign policy in her absence.

'She's been quite active on the phone with all of us,' State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told the Associated Press.

A-okay: Former President Bill Clinton grins as he leaves New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday just hours before his wife Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was formally discharged

Home to rest: The Clintons purchased this home in the New York suburb of Chappaqua in 1999 for $1.7million

She has already started to resume regular phone contact with her foreign counterparts.

Her short public appearance on Wednesday seemed to signal that she was ready to get back to work following an unspecified recovery period, though some detractors suggested her health condition could keep her out of the running for a rumored presidential bid in 2016.

Others scoffed that perhaps the outgoing Secretary of State was using her health to avoid facing a Congressional inquiry on State Department security failures in the September 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

Her doctors announced that she was being treated for the condition on Monday, causing alarm over the secretary's health following a concussion she suffered from a fall on December 9.

In the Monday statement, Dr. Lisa Bardack, of the Mt. Kisco Medical Group, and Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, from George Washington University, said the clot 'did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage.'

Despite the assurances, people became alarmed when a photo emerged of the former first daughter, 32, full of anxiety as she visited her mother at the hospital on Monday.

Early on: Chelsea Clinton looked distressed on Monday while visiting her mother (pictured) but by Wednesday the 32-year-old appeared more upbeat as she supported her mother

Chelsea, who is married to investment banker Marc Mezvinsky and lives in the Madison Square Park neighborhood of Manhattan, is extremely close to her mother.

In a Vogue profile of Chelsea, who entered the limelight in 1993 when her father became president, a friend of the Clinton's only child said the loss of her mother's mother last year came as a devastating blow.

Her childhood friend, Nicole Fox, said in August 2012 that Dorothy Rodham's death 'was the hardest thing I’ve ever seen Chelsea go through. She was really destroyed by it.'

But after the pained expression on Monday, Chelsea Clinton displayed more optimism in a New Year's Day message.

'Wishing all a healthy & happy 2013,' Chelsea Clinton tweeted on Tuesday. 'Grateful to be starting the new year with my family.'

Relief: Chelsea tweeted that her mother was formally discharged on Wednesday evening

Health scare: Hillary Clinton's doctors discovered the clot during a follow-up exam on Sunday and confirmed it was in her head on Monday

The comment was 'liked' more than 7,300 times on Facebook and shared by 1,800 people on Twitter.

Clinton also thanked the public via Twitter for their support for her mother.

'Thank you to all for sending good thoughts my Mom's way,' she wrote. 'Grateful to all her doctors & that she'll make a full recovery!'

Former President Bill Clinton had also been spotted driving to and from his wife's side at New York-Presbyterian Hospital during his wife's stay at the hospital.

In the Monday statement announcing Clinton's condition, doctors assured the public that it was not a life-threatening condition and said she had suffered no brain damage or stroke.

'In all other aspects of her recovery, the Secretary is making excellent progress and we are confident she will make a full recovery. She is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family, and her staff,' Doctors Lisa Bardack and Gigi El-Bayoumi said in a statement.

Grateful: Chelsea tweeted from her mother's bedside on New Year's Day

Optimism: Chelsea also thanked the public via Twitter for their support while her mother is hospitalized

A clot occurs when a blockage builds up, either from partial thrombus (coagulated blood) or an outside compression. When the vein becomes blocked, the coagulated blood may extend to veins draining the area, which could lead to a lack of oxygen and tissue death.

The condition was discovered during an MRI but leading up to the discovery, Secretary Clinton had been resuming her duties.

On Saturday, the day before the clot was discovered, Clinton had a half-hour conversation with Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. envoy to Syria, in which the two discussed the state of affairs in that civil-war-torn country, her spokesman said.

'In the course of a routine follow-up MRI on Sunday, the scan revealed that a right transverse sinus venous thrombosis had formed.

This is a clot in the vein that is situated in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. It did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage.

To help dissolve this clot, her medical team began treating the Secretary with blood thinners. She will be released once the medication dose has been established.

In all other aspects of her recovery, the Secretary is making excellent progress and we are confident she will make a full recovery. She is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family, and her staff.'---Dr Lisa Bardack, Mt. Kisco Medical Group, and Dr Gigi El-Bayoumi, George Washington University

For Clinton, 'the particular vein they're talking about, there are enough other areas for the blood to travel through so it doesn't build up in the brain,' Dr Sanjay Gupta said on CNN.

The condition can be treated with blood thinners administered over several months until the clot breaks down.

Doctors kept her under their watchful eye as they adjusted the dose of her anti-clotting medication.

Her hospital stay near the turn of the new year came after she had spent weeks recovering from a concussion.

Aides and doctors say Clinton contracted a stomach virus in early December and became dehydrated, then fainted, fell and hit her head on December 9.

She was diagnosed with a concussion on December 13 and hadn't been seen in public since Dec. 7.

The new health scare brought back some painful memories for the former first lady, who suffered a large blood clot in her leg back in 1998.

In a 2007 interview with the New York Daily News, Clinton called the 1998 clot 'the most significant health scare I've ever had.'

First family: Mrs Clinton is pictured with daughter Chelsea Clinton and husband Bill during the closing Plenary session of the seventh Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in 2011

Most clots in the legs are treated with six months of blood thinners to allow them to dissolve on their own and to prevent further clots from forming, he said.

A clot in a lung or the brain is more serious. Lung clots, called pulmonary embolisms, can be deadly, and a clot in the brain can cause a stroke.

Clinton's illness this December led her to cancel an overseas trip and scheduled testimony before Congress about the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

When her absence was reported, several pundits and newspapers accused Clinton of making her illness seem worse than it was to dodge questions from lawmakers over the consulate attack, which claimed the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

The New York Post called her concussion a 'head fake.'

Florida Rep Allan West said Clinton had a case of the 'Benghazi flu,' while Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer dubbed it an 'acute Benghazi allergy.'

Earlier this week, The National Enquirer reported that brain cancer was behind Mrs Clinton's health problems and that she was facing a barrage of medical tests to confirm the diagnosis.

'Stamina:' At 65 years old, Clinton bragged to Barbara Walters just days before fainting in early December that she is healthy and has plenty of energy and stamina

But a spokesman for the Democrat, spokesman Philippe Reines, labelled the claims 'absolute nonsense' and insisted Clinton was recovering well from the fall and subsequent concussion.

Only days before her concussion Clinton had said she was in excellent health during an interview with Barbara Walters.

HILLARY'S DIAGNOSIS: TREATING TRANSVERSE SINUS VENOUS THROMBOSIS

Hillary Clinton has a blood clot located in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear, a condition called transverse sinus venous thrombosis.

The transverse sinus is located beneath the brain and allows blood to drain from the back of the head. It is the most common sites for clots inside the head, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

A clot occurs when a blockage builds up, either from partial thrombus (coagulated blood) or an outside compression. When the vein becomes blocked, the coagulated blood may extend to veins draining the area, which could lead to a lack of oxygen and tissue death.

For Clinton, 'the particular vein they're talking about, there are enough other areas for the blood to travel through so it doesn't build up in the brain,' Dr Sanjay Gupta told CNN.

Symptoms and signs can include headache, nausea, vomiting and seizures, although the condition was detected in Clinton with a routine MRI scan following her treatment for concussion.

Doctors questioned whether this concussion, paired with the fact Hillary had a similar clot in her leg in 1988, led to the condition.

'You don't typically see blood clots forming in veins after this sort of concussion,' Dr Gupta said. 'She is somebody who has formed these blood clots before. There are some people who more likely develop blood clots. Does she clot more vigorously than normal? That with the brain injury - the concussion - could have led to it.'

The condition can be treated with blood thinners administered over several months until the clot breaks down.

Other treatments include using a shunt to drain pressure on the brain or surgery - yet doctors said neither are necessary for Clinton.

'The most concerning thing was... the fact that this could be a blood clot pushing on her brain,' Dr Gupta said. 'That's not what this is. You wouldn't treat something like that with blood thinners. It's not a mass or a collection of blood pushing on the brain but it is something you'd want to address fairly quickly.'

Detractors have claimed Clinton's advancing age and health make her too old to realistically serve as a two-term president were she elected in 2016.

'I am, thankfully, knock on wood, not only healthy, but have incredible stamina and energy,' Clinton told Barbara Walters.

Clinton has a history of fainting, having experienced a brief spell in in 2005 during an appearance before a women's group in Buffalo.

The former first lady is expected to step down from her role as Secretary of State in the beginning of 2013 when President Obama begins his second term.

On December 21, President Obama announced he was nominating Senator John Kerry to succeed Clinton at the State Department.

At a State Department press conference in January 2012, she announced that she would be stepping down from the 'high wire of American politics' after 20 years as first lady, a senator from New York, and finally U.S. Secretary of State.

She told reporters at the press conference that 'it would be a good idea to find out how tired I really am.'

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